Globalization testing is a form of testing used in the development of software to ensure that the program is supported by multiple languages and is globally accessible.
There are two types of globalization testing:
Internationalization testing: Also known as I18N, as there are 18 characters between I and n. Internationalization testing is the process of structuring the application locally for a language or culture without changing the original source code of the application. Each of the languages that the application is offered has a separate property file from which data is retrieved for the application. The developers make the property files in different languages. During testing, we check if the content of a property file is reflected for a certain language when the language is selected for an application.
Localization testing: Also known as L10N, as there are 10 characters between L and n. Localization is used to do format testing, as it checks the formats for pin codes, data, phone number, currency, etc., to see if they are localized for a country or culture.
The benefits of globalization testing are that a wider audience can benefit from the functionality of the software and it’s more inclusive of people around the world. This is also a step in the design of the user interface, as it makes the program easier to navigate.
Moreover, countries around the world follow different language conventions, as well as address and phone number conventions. The application should be tested so that it incorporates all different phone codes, address formats, and vocabulary differences.
Furthermore, globalization testing reduces the cost of developing different software for different languages and makes the program more scalable.
The disadvantage of globalization testing is that translators and domain experts need to be hired.
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